


Monsters Under the Bed

by Imahigo



Series: Monsters [1]
Category: Tekken
Genre: Action & Romance, Alternate Canon, Baby-Mama Drama, Blind Character, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon/OC - Freeform, F/M, Humor, Implied/Referenced Domestic Violence, Irony, Mishima Devil Gene, Multi, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-11
Updated: 2016-02-27
Packaged: 2018-04-08 19:56:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4317804
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Imahigo/pseuds/Imahigo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lei Wulong has been assigned a special mission from Interpol: He's been assigned to protect a mysterious Russian woman and her blind son.  He is to safely escort her to Japan from Hong-Kong to testify in court against G-Corporation.  Lei accepts the mission anyway, hoping to put and end to Kazuya Mishima once and for all.  Little does Lei know, that there are multiple assassins after this poor woman's life and that escorting her will be no easy feat.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Welcome to my Life

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I've noticed there aren't many awesome Lei fics about his action-packed adventures as a cop. This fic is based loosely on an old Tekken RP website and loosely on a story I am working on. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy this fic. And yes, the title is kinda lame and I was listening to that song as I wrote this fic.

It was a beautiful day in this quiet neighborhood. Kids were playing outside on the playground nearby. Residents hung their clothes up on the clothes line for it to dry. Today was a good day. Lei had just woken up from a restful night sleep. The good thing is that he is off today, so now he has time to himself. Lei can finally relax and go see the new Terminator movie. As much as Lei hates reboots, he couldn't miss watching Arnold's cheesy one-liners with his thick Austrian accent that gets thicker as he gets older. Probably because that is what made him famous. His extremely thick accent. Even though he went into politics (Which was dumb), Lei still admired the former Austrian body-builder. Plus his huge comeback in the _Expendables 2_ made Lei want to see all of his movies, even as an old seasoned man. For a guy in his 60's Arnold was in good shape. Just like Heihachi.

Lei rolled out of bed, slipped on his house shoes, and just wandered into the kitchen. He tiredly prepared some coffee as he took a seat in a reclining sofa and turned on the TV to watch the news. Nothing much was going on except for the crimes that were committed while Lei was off-duty and some school-wide fundraiser going on to raise money to take the students to Beijing to see the Forbidden City. That was pretty much that was going on. Once the coffee clicked, Lei got up and gave himself a cup and began drinking it. The coffee woke his tastebuds up.

Once again, Lei became hyper aware that he was the only person living in this two-bedroom apartment that was nearly vacant (Pai had moved all of her stuff out and when she moved in, she had gotten rid of a hand-full of Lei's stuff). One bedroom was mostly vacant, as Lei very rarely had guests over stay for the night. Usually, it is the other way around. Not to mention, when he and Pai were searching for apartments, Lei told Pai he wanted a two-bedroom in case the two were to have kids or Pai's parents came to visit, who hated him, by the way. It was no wonder. It was exactly a year ago that Pai decided to break up with Lei and then date his then partner (Lei requested a change due to not wanting to work with a man who slept with his ex while Lei was working). He didn't understand what would posses that woman to do such a thing. The two were together for well over five years and they were going to get married. And now, here he is, back to square one, alone in this apartment. Lei's biological clock is ticking, rather has been since his 30's. He missed having someone to wake up to. He missed having Pai bother him in the mornings. He missed having his dog, Yue, bug him wanting to be fed. Lei had a dog many years ago, but he died of old age. He was a Siberian Husky, and Yue was a loyal dog. Unlike most people Lei's known.

Last time Lei checked (He wasn't actively doing this, but he heard his co-workers talk about it), Pai and Chou-Su both had a child just a few months ago, and the two are having trouble adjusting to the new baby. Lei thought that was awfully quick to start popping babies. Maybe they had unprotected sex or the condom ripped. Rumor has it that Lei's really the dad, but Lei doubts it. They've used protection. Plus, the last time Lei slept with Pai was just a week or so before Pai admitted that she had been sleeping with another guy on the side and broke up with him just to be with Chou-Su...

Wait. Lei realized something. Pai had a baby a few months ago. At that point, she hadn't even been with Chou-Su for that long... or has she? Pai never told Lei when she started seeing him, so as far as Lei knows, Pai could have had this fling for years. Even though Lei was 100% sure he wasn't the father and Chou-Su is the dad, Lei actually wondered for a second. What if he really was the dad? But how? There's just no way... when would that baby been conceived? Lei made sure to be extra careful, since he didn't want them to have a child before they were ready. Wait!

Lei just realized something. One night, the condom had ripped, but Pai said it was okay she was taking birth control pills. She had started taking them a week prior, and Lei noticed that later on she stopped because it made her sick. And then she started seeing Chou-Su...

What if Pai was sick, not because of the pills? What if she was sick because she was indeed pregnant? But she never realized it, and it never crossed her mind. What if she was already pregnant when she was sleeping around? What if Lei was really indeed the father? If his calculations are correct, that incident would be the baby girl's conception date. Unless Pai slept with Chou-Su in the same day. That incident was almost exactly 10 months away from the child's birth. Which means...

“Holy shit... I'm a dad...” He said this calmly, although he was in shock.

Yeah, Lei did plan on having kids, but not like this. Lei still had some lingering feelings for Pai. After all, he was GOING TO PROPOSE TO HER! They agreed that they'd start a family together... but after that stunt she pulled, Lei lost all respect for that woman and wanted nothing to do with her. He couldn't believe she was so selfish. If Lei's working hours bothered her that much, she should have said something. No, instead, she just decided to fuck his assistant. None of, “I feel so lonely when you're away...” or “I just miss you too much, it gets overwhelming...” before she pulled the stunt. Instead, she just tells him this AFTER the fact. Did she lie when she said she loved him? Lei could only sigh.

It was all just wishful thinking. He's not the father. He's just hoping for something that isn't going to happen. He shut Pai out of his life. That woman broke his heart. In fact, Lei still to this day, is cautious of his dates. That woman pretty much ruined his dwindling faith in humanity. If you don't sleep with a woman enough, she will eventually stray and find a better man. Women never settle. They always look for the better option.

_I can't let something like this dampen my mood. I was already off to a good start..._

It has been several months following the 6 th  tournament, which thankfully ended the war and the riots stopped. It was amazing how quickly everything bounced back on its feet. Almost like nothing ever happened. However, Japan's economy has fallen, no thanks to Jin Kazama. Lei couldn't believe it. Not only is the son of one of his past loves done something evil, but also... he's dead. Lei felt so bad... he wanted to look after Jin for Jun's sake... but it was too late. Lei hasn't had too many dangerous cases, and he is still looking for Feng Wei. He found him at the tournament, but the mysterious man disappeared as soon as Lei went looking for him. He matched the description of the criminal Lei had been chasing for a year. He's still looking for him. Hopefully, tomorrow, he'll get a breakthrough. But right now, this is his day off, and he better enjoy it before the Mishimas do something big and fuck up the world again. Right now, it's nice to enjoy this peaceful day. Lei stepped outside on the balcony of his apartment and watched as children played outside. It was a nice day. Too beautiful to waste it on watching movies all day. In fact, today is a great day to do some sparring and training. Perhaps maybe Lei will run into Feng Wei if he's lucky.

Once Lei finally got dressed and ready to go, several of the kids stop him.

“Where are you going, Mr. Lei?” One child, a little girl asked.

“I'm going to go practice.”

“Practice? Why do you need to practice? You're already strong!” Said another kid, the girl's brother.

“Because you see... haven't you heard of the saying, 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall?'”

 The two siblings shook their heads.

“You just practice, practice, practice, practice. I haven't won a fighting tournament just yet, so I still have a long ways to go, kids. If I just lay down and do nothing, I won't get better. Practicing whatever you are doing will ensure improvement no matter what. Until I win a fighting tournament, then we can say I'm strong enough. In fact, even if I do, I still have to practice.”

“So, if you practice, you'll be even stronger than you are right now?”

“Yep. Exactly. That's what I'm getting at.”

“Awesome! Get stronger so you can catch all the bad guys!”

Lei couldn't help but smile. “I will. I will get stronger.”

Without further ado, Lei left the three kids and made his way to the bus stop to go make his way to his favorite training spot.

 


	2. A New Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so sorry about that. I had to fix this chapter real fast. Found some errors and inconsistencies. But anyway, I got it, so enjoy folks!

 

 

After a long day of training, Lei thought it would be best to celebrate with a nice hot bowl of noodles. It was indeed a good day. As Lei made his way to the noodle stand he noticed two people occupying the bench. Oddly enough, they were both wearing cloaks on a hot day. He takes a seat next to the two and orders his usual.

“So, what brings the two of you here at this humble little noodle stand?” Lei asked the two cloaked figures.

The figure adjacent to Lei turned its head. It revealed to be a pale, mature woman who looked to be in her mid-to-late 30s as marked by her bony structures and slight wrinkles developing under her thin pink lips that were curled into a frown. She had high cheekbones and some smile lines that had developed over time that accentuated her age. She glared at the native with those large sea-green eyes of hers. She also had strands of curly auburn hair that framed her face, as well as some stray freckles on her face. Lei could tell, this woman was clearly agitated with him.

“I'm here for food. Why else would I be here?” She had a sharp bell-like voice, coupled with a thick Eastern European accent with a soft tenor voice.

Lei held his hands up in defense. “Look, ma'am, I'm sorry. I don't normally see tourists out here, let alone in this alleyway... I'm just curious is all... just trying to be friendly here.”

“I don't need your hospitality.” The woman replies.

At that instant, Lei noticed that the other cloaked figure turned its head to face Lei. It was a preteen. The boy greatly resembled this woman, whom Lei assumed was his mother. He had the same rectangular head shape, those same large eyes, though his were of a lighter blue hue, and the curly brown hair. He was just as pale as his mom, but he had no freckles. He had full lips, and no high cheekbones. Lei could pick out the features that this boy shares with his father, being the features that this woman and this child did not share. Lei could tell, the way the boy was looking at him, his vision was impaired, as he wasn't looking directly at Lei, but rather, his eyes were wandering about.

Lei then heard the boy say something in some East European language that Lei had no way of understanding. The woman would then reply, as the cook then made his way back to the bench.

“Is there a problem, ma'am?” The cook asks the woman.

“Nope. No problem at all.” She says after sipping her noodle. “We were just about to leave.”

The woman then stands up, and leaves the unfinished noodles, and grabs the boy's hand and leaves without another word.

“What's her problem?” Lei asks, pointing at the two. “All I did was ask her a simple question, and then she just gets up and storms off.” He sighs. “Ugh... I was trying to be nice.”

It wasn't long before the boy and his mother both disappeared from view. They vanished in the crowd.

“I don't know what her issue is, but she came here in a hurry and said for me to prepare her some food really fast before someone sees her.” The cook finally said.

“So, she's hiding from someone. Someone's after her. I knew there was something amiss about that woman. Would explain the cloak.” Lei sighs. “Whatever, though... it doesn't matter.”

Without further ado, a pair of men dressed up casually walked up to Lei. They didn't seem friendly. Not at all. Those men were of Asian descent, just like himself and other Hong-Kong citizens.

“Excuse me, sir... have you seen a white woman and her child around here?”

The chef had gone in the back. These guys must be the people that woman was running away from.

“As a matter of fact, I have. In fact, you just missed her. She went that way with her son.” Lei pointed at the opposite direction that the European woman went. The men thanked Lei and took off that way. The chef then came back.

“Do you recognize them?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. One guy, with the octopus tattoo on his arm, he's one of the members of the Twin Fangs. Apparently, the Triads are after this woman, but why?”

The chef nods. “Maybe she's a valuable asset or something. Are you going to go after her?”

“Hell yeah! I'm going to see what's up. Probably get her somewhere safe so we can figure out what is up.”

“I see. Well, Lei, go on ahead. Your noodles can wait.”

Lei then takes a sip of the woman and her son's noodles before leaving to go after her. There was something fishy going on. Lei intended to find out for himself. What mysteries does this woman share? Of course, that woman already had a head-start, but Lei was sure he could catch up with her. Lei then took note of the emergency exit on the side of the building, as well as a food stand and a crate. He immediately jumped on the crate, to do a flip in the air to land on the roof of the food stand, bouncing him up in the air, high enough for him to reach the emergency exit. He climbed up the ladder as he jumped onto a window sill to climb up on the roof of the building where he then ran across the building. He looked down below and caught a glimpse of the two cloaked figures. They weren't even running, just walking at about the same speed as the crowd. Lei then saw some rough-necks approaching the two. He runs toward their position, hopping from roof-to-roof. He then tries to lower himself to the ground, sliding down a drainpipe. He was back on the streets, just near the woman and her son. And it appears the rough-necks are closing in on her position. Not if Lei has something to say about it. He gets close to one of the thugs and trips him.

“Oh man, I'm so sorry! I should really watch where I'm walking...” Lei grinned sheepishly.

He then continued to follow the two cloaked figures.

“This reminds me too much of the Matrix. I'm following the rabbit.” He said to himself outloud.

Eventually, the woman sees all the thugs coming toward her at all directions, and Lei sees this, as well. He walks up behind her and whispers, “Looks like a tight spot you're in.”

The woman's immediate reaction was to slap Lei, which Lei allowed her to do. Yes, he could grab her wrist and stop her, but he didn't want her to think he was one of those thugs. He was one of the good guys.

“Ow! Why did you hit me?”

“I already told you to leave me alone! Now look at this! What are you going to do now?”

Lei then grabbed the woman's wrist, as well as her son's wrist. “Follow my lead.”

The woman wanted to resist, but she noticed that her son is accepting this stranger's hand. This man was serious now, earlier he had a playful tone, but now he is serious.

Lei used the crowd to his advantage, but he knew that there was only so much he could do before the thugs would have their way with this woman. Eventually, they hit an open area with less people, and now the thugs have less people to get in their way.

_Just a little further..._ Lei could almost see the bus stop in the distance. Lei was going to get this woman to safety. She needed it. Eventually, they were close enough so that Lei could let the woman go. He instructed her to get on the bus and don't get off until the 5 th stop and go look for the local police. The woman nods as Lei distracted the thugs. He tripped one guy, as the other decided to take a swing at Lei with his baseball bat, which Lei effortlessly dodged. He was now it his Panther Stance. Lei hopped in the air, and quickly bounced off his attacker, to land on the one that he had just tripped. Lei saw five more come up and try to attack him, but Lei rolled and kicked all of the men as he rolled over and stood up on his feet.

“I'm gonna kill you!”

The man with the bat finally recovered and was just about to get Lei, but he jumped on him, and swung onto the light pole. Lei spun around on the pole as he descended, sending several more thugs flying. He then lands on a moving car. Lei accidentally lands in through the sunroof and has a seat in the rear passenger of the car. The kid in the car screamed as Lei immediately jumped out of the car. The thugs saw Lei and immediately ran after him.

Lei took off running, avoiding those men. He zipped, and rolled out of the way of moving traffic. Lei winced as he saw one of the thugs get hit and fly up in the air and land on the car. Nonetheless, Lei continued going. Once he crossed the road, Lei began to climb. He eventually made it on the roof, as the thugs down below couldn't do anything about it. From then on, Lei decided to make his way to the police station, hoping to meet the woman there. Eventually, Lei made it, just as the woman made it to the front entrance. Lei made his appearance by hoping from a dumpster.

“How did you_?”

“Honey, I'm a ninja. I don't look like one, but I am a ninja. Anyway, let's see about getting you hooked up with one of the police here at the department. See if we can sign you up for witness protection.”

“Witness protection? You must be mad! Nobody must know we exist! I don't know how you do things, but nobody must know of our very existence!”

Lei wasn't sure if that woman knows what she is saying, or if she is serious about people never knowing she exists. Wearing a cloak to hide yourself and your kid is not a good way to stay hidden. He also noted that the boy doesn't speak English. All he ever spoke was some European language. Maybe Polish. Poor boy. He's missing school because of this mess. If anything, Lei hopes this woman can stop hiding so her son can get a proper education.

Lei stopped, sighed, and placed both hands on the petite woman's shoulders. “Ma'am, I'm here to help. Okay. You can trust us. We're here to help. You gotta' trust me, okay? I know its hard to trust people nowadays, but believe me, I'm here to help. If anything. We're gonna testify against whomever it is after you. Then you can go back to Poland... and live a happy, normal life, and your son will have a great education.” Lei then crouches in front of the boy to be eye-level with him. Kid doesn't see him, but Lei knows that boy knows he's there. “I'm not sure if you understand the words coming out of my mouth, but your mommy's going to be okay. She's safe with me, son.” Lei then stood to his full height, to face the woman once more.

“So, what do I need to do?”

Lei smiled, relieved to hear her answer. “Well, here's how it works...” The three were now at the police station. There were multiple conversations going on at once, something that welcomed Lei. Just as he was moving along, someone stopped Lei and asked him several questions in Cantonese. Lei answered him, as he then introduced the woman and her son to his co-worker.

“Miss, this is Yu Meng-Xiao. He's a co-worker of mine, and he will be happy to allow to report a crime.”

Yu smiled as he held up his hand for the woman to shake. The woman shook his hand.

Yu was a young man, in his early 20's. He just got recruited not too long ago, and Lei is actually pretty fond of the rookie. Reminds Lei back when he was his age. The boy's got heart, and guts, and he's very naive. Lei hopes that the horrors of police work doesn't corrupt this man's soul. Lei didn't get corrupted, thankfully. He was already used to seeing human nature at its worst. But Yu, on the other hand, never lost someone close to him at the hands of a murderer.

“Well, anyway, I'll leave you alone. It was nice meeting you two. Hopefully, you guys can live a normal life again. Seeya.” Lei waved bye as he left.

Lei makes it back to the noodle stand, only to find that it is closed. Lei frowned as his stomach rumbled. “Aww, are you kidding me? I have to go cook dinner? How about no? Really?”

Lei then made his way back to his apartment, where food awaited. However, on his way back, Lei receives a phone call, which he promptly answers.

“Hello, Lei here. What's up?”

“Hey, it's me, Uncle Bob. I want you to come down to the station real quick, I've got a special assignment for you.”

Uncle Bob (Full name: Bob Teng) is not really Lei's uncle per-say. He's the police chief of the precinct and Lei looked up to him as a young cop. He also somewhat saw him as an uncle. He was like any boss fair and never yelled or condescended his subjects. After all, Uncle Bob didn't demote Lei after that incident a year ago. Rather he put Lei on a one-month suspension to give him time to grieve over Pai and to focus on himself more. And of course, not too long after his suspension, Lei took down the syndicate from the operation Lei had botched earlier and the Supercop was officially back.

“Okay, sir, I'll be right there.” Lei hung up right then and sighed, his stomach still rumbling. He rubs his stomach and slouches in disappointment. “I didn't get anything to eat... how unfair.”

Lei finally makes it back to the precinct to see that Czechoslovakian woman and her son in the office. They still had their hoods up. Lei saw that the two seats were occupied, so Lei leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, ready to hear the mission.

“Fancy seeing you here...” The woman said rolling her eyes in annoyance.

“The two of you have met?” Uncle Bob asks.

Lei nods.

“Unfortunately, yes... we've met.” The woman replied.

“Well, Miss Krisovitch, I'll have you know, this man is one of the best agents we have in this field. He will be your escort. Miss Krisovitch, this is Detective Lei Wulong. Wulong, these are your clients, Natalie Krisovitch, and her son, Nikolai. And it's nice that the two of you have met already. Makes things all the more easier.”

“Nice to meet you, Miss Krisovitch.” Lei smiles. “I'll make sure those thugs don't ever mess with you or your son again!”

The little boy just smiles at Lei, which Lei wasn't sure if he was smiling because he understood Lei, or if he found Lei funny or what?

“You can just call me Natalie. No need to be formal.”

“You got it, Natalie...” Lei winks.

The police chief then interrupts the two. “Anyway, Wulong. The mission is simple. Interpol wants you to safely escort these two in Tokyo, Japan. They have a court hearing scheduled a week from now. Interpol will take care of the plane tickets, and they've already booked your reservations at a nice hotel that's in the safest part of Tokyo. The three of you will stay there until the court hearing is done. Once that's done and over with, hopefully, you will all be able to go your separate ways.”

“Uh-huh, Right...” Lei commented.

“So, I have to be with this man at all times?” Natalie pointed at Lei.

“Bingo. I'm sorry if the two of you didn't get along, but... like I said, he's one of our top agents. He'll make sure you and your son are safe.” Uncle Bob then turns to look up at Lei. “Wulong, as of right now, these two Russian fugitives are now currently in your custody. I will now turn them over to you.”

Lei nods. “Don't worry, Uncle Bob, I will look after them both. You have my word.”

The police chief then dismisses the three as they left the office.

“So, what now, Detective?”

“Well, let's go back to my place and hang out there for a bit. Then I guess we can leave once I start packing. Though I don't think its safe that we walk to my place. Let's catch a cab.”

“I really hope your plan works... Detective. It better work.”

Lei smiles. “It will, trust me. After all, I am Hong-Kong's second-greatest cop, next to Jackie Chan of course! Ka Kui will always be the best cop in the world. He's the reason why I became a cop in the first place.”

Nick smiled at Lei's comment. Again, Lei wasn't sure if the boy understood him, or if he was just confused so he's smiling.

“But let me address something real quick, Natalie, your boy... does he speak English? Let alone, understand it. Poor kid hasn't said a peep at all...”

“He doesn't talk in front of strangers. He knows English... barely. But he just won't talk to strangers.”

Lei nods. It makes sense. He wanted information about the boy's father. What if the boy is the son of some Russian mobster, and Natalie refuses to raise her son in that environment so she ran away, hiding in Hong-Kong, hoping nobody would notice. And she's wanted dead because she has all the information that is needed to take down a mob. That's why she has to testify in Japan... wait? Why are they testifying all the way in Japan, instead of Russia? Is her son half-Asian?

Lei examined the boy, who gave Lei a blank look. Lei can't find any Asian traits in that boy. He looks completely Caucasian. As far as he could tell. It was hard to see with that damn cloak on. Either way, Lei was going to unravel the mystery.

 


	3. Police Story

Lei made it back to his apartment, after leaving on an empty stomach, which Lei wasn't too happy about. He had some cooking materials at his house, and it would appear that Natalie and her blind-child didn't get to eat, so Lei took it upon himself to cook the two dinner. Once inside the house, Lei closed the blinds and turned on the stove. The woman, deciding it was safe, took off her cloak. It revealed much more of the woman than Lei had expected. He did see several strands of curly hair, but her hair was extremely curly. It reminded him of Princess Merida from _Brave_. It went down barely past her shoulders. She was also dressed in some plain-looking black dress that covered up everything that most modern dresses fail to cover. The boy did the same, and Lei saw, he had straight, brown hair unlike his mom. He, too was dressed in a black shirt, and matching pants. Probably to blend in with the dark, better, and be unnoticed. Natalie already had a gorgeous face, but that wild hair of hers was an extra package.

“What? Never seen a white woman before?” Natalie says, noticing Lei staring at her.

“Nope, not at all. Just... your hair... I didn't expect you to have hair like that. Just surprised me is all.”

The woman crosses her arms. “Actually, this isn't my real hair. I'm wearing a wig.”

Lei smiled at her comment.

Natalie then leads her son to the couch where he sat down, and Lei turned on the TV to an English channel, so the boy can follow what is going on.

Lei then instructs Natalie to follow him into the kitchen. That was then, Lei grabbed all the ingredients and began cooking.

“Can I ask you something, Natalie?” Lei didn't make eye contact with that woman as he spoke to her.

“It depends.”

Lei chops up the eggplant. “What happened to the kid's father, if you don't mind me asking?”

“And you're asking me, why?” Natalie says, obviously annoyed.

“I'm just curious. I don't see the dad anywhere...” He puts the eggplant on a dish, and grabs the bell peppers and begins chopping them up, still not making eye-contact with the Russian. “I'm a firm believer in that children are our future, and whatever happens to them determines the outcome of their future.”

Natalie wasn't too comfortable with disclosing her family life with this... detective. It was none of his concern. “They are indeed. If anything, I assure you, Nikolai's a good kid. He's a smart kid, too. Very intelligent. Yes, he's blind, but he's still very smart.”

“I don't doubt it one bit. I know that boy has a good head on his shoulders. His dad was a very smart man, wasn't he?”

Natalie thought back to her husband. He was indeed a very intelligent man. That's where her son got all his smarts and good looks from. Great guy. “He was very intelligent. A great man. He's just like Nikolai, so quiet, yet thoughtful. Never knew what was on in that brilliant mind if his half the time.” Natalie sighed dreamily.

“I'm sure he was...” Judging by the way she spoke of him... Lei could tell, this boy's father was deceased, and he was dear to Miss Natalie. And she was still in love with him. Plus, Lei could tell, he's been dead awhile. Woman's able to speak fondly of him without crying.

“What about you, Detective? Where's your family?” She finally opened up to him. But Lei couldn't help but think about that question. Too many times has Lei heard that phrase.

 

“ _Where's your family?”_

Lei remembers it like yesterday. He was just a small boy. He was with his mother, watching as he saw his father's corpse carried out on a stretcher. Lei saw blood dripping from his arm that was hanging off the stretcher. He saw all the police officers in their uniforms talking, as well as the news reporters surrounding the scene. He ran to the stretcher, before one of the cops stopped little Lei.

“FU QIN!” Lei screamed. “FU QIN!”

Eventually, his mother came and held him back. Lei remembers, at that second, he knew his dad had been killed. He was murdered in cold blood. Lei recalls, his mother, totally overcome with grief, took her own life not too long after. Lei had been wandering around the hall way looking for his mother. He finally found her in the bathtub, lying there lifelessly in her own pool of blood. Her slit wrists dripped down onto the floor... just as Lei saw blood dripping from his own father's hand. Lei shook his mom, hoping she'd respond... but she didn't. She just stared, mouth agape, lifelessly. Lei could never forget how cold her body was. It was so icy and chilled... He never forgot about that. He remembers the blood on his hands... But it was warm and fresh blood?

 

“Oh my God... Detective!”

Lei snapped back into reality. He noticed that he had accidentally cut his hand open while he was chopping up the peppers.

“Oh shit...” Lei whispered to himself in shock. However, Lei stayed calm. It probably isn't that deep.

Natalie had already ran and grabbed some cotton balls and placed it along the laceration. She then gets an ace bandage and wraps it around his entire hand. “There... that should slow the bleeding down. You're good as new.”

Lei then saw the boy was nowhere in sight.

“He doesn't like the smell of blood. It agitates him.” She says to Lei.

“Poor boy..." Lei felt sorry for little Nick.  Boy has seen enough blood shed as it is.  "Okay, so... um... are you a doctor?” Lei asks.

“Actually, no, I just love randomly healing injured people just for kicks.”

Lei couldn't help but smile. He loved this woman's sarcasm. He couldn't help but chuckle at her comment a little.

Natalie then lets go of Lei's hand. “Just go lay down somewhere, I'll take care of the food.”

“Are you sure? It's just a scratch?”

Natalie then shooed Lei away. “Just go! Lay down! You see? You're still bleeding! Besides, I don't want blood in my food.”

“Okay, all right! Fine!” Lei threw his hands in the air, accidentally hitting the shelf in the process in which he yelped in pain. “I'm going!”

Lei begrudgingly left the kitchen to hit the bedroom. Lei lied down in his bed, sighing. Why did that woman force him into his bedroom. Lei decided to lay down and take a nap. And his stomach roared.

_Damnit! I still didn't get to eat my noodles!_

Lei went to sleep right then, still hungry and confused that Natalie sent him to go to sleep **with a minor cut to his right hand**. It wasn't long before Lei finally woke up on his own. It was late at night. Thank goodness. Lei quietly walked out of the bedroom and tip-toed across the hardwood floors. Lei then took note of a figure sleeping on his couch. Lei then checked the guest bedroom to see that Nick had made himself comfortable in the bed.

_Everyone's asleep... now's my chance!_ Just as Lei was about to make his way into the kitchen, his stomach roared. Lei stopped. Good nobody heard anything. However, Lei soon heard some footsteps. Lei knew somebody was here. Must be assassins after Natalie and her son. Lei then makes it to the kitchen. He grabs a large knife and quietly walks around, hoping to find the culprit. Lei's eyes adjusted to the dark when he noticed... the door had been opened. The deadbolt wasn't locked.

_Somebody's here!_ Lei then wandered about, hoping to catch one of the thugs. There it goes. The footsteps again! There he goes. Lei quietly crept around the corner. He found the source of the sound... the bathroom. Of course. Lei opened the door, and then kicked it down as he turned on the lights.

“FREEZE!” Lei shouted, holding the knife.

Natalie covered her eyes as Lei closed the door in embarrassment. Lei turned on all the lights and sighed as he sat on the couch, waiting on Natalie to step out of the restroom. Finally she did, and Lei was just so embarrassed. Natalie then takes a seat next to Lei.

“I know someone's here! The deadbolt is unlocked! I never leave the deadbolt unlocked! Ever!”

Unbeknownst to either of the two, there was a woman, dressed in all black, hiding behind a counter with a silencer. She was just about ready to shoot Natalie. She peeks from the counter, loading her weapon ready to shoot.

“Alright then, I'll go pack your stuff while you find the intruder.”

Lei nods. “Yeah, they're around here somewhere. Probably hiding in the closet.”

“MAMA!”

At that instant, Nick ran out of the room, shouting this. Natalie got up, and at that instant, the assassin fired his weapon. The bullet missed, and hit Lei's TV, ricocheting from the tv, to hit the ceiling. Lei turned around and found the assailant. Lei runs and chases after her. The assassin tries to shoot Lei, but he slides on the ground to do a sliding kick. The assassin falls down. Lei then pins the woman to the ground as he instructs Natalie to run into his room and grab his cuffs, which she does and tosses it to Lei. Unfortunately, the assassin gets free, before Lei could cuff her. She gets back up, and sends a knee to his chest. She then grabs his arms and shoves him onto the stove. The next course of action was to handcuff Lei to the oven, with both wrists restrained. Lei then watched in horror as the female assassin pointed her weapon at Natalie. The poor woman froze in fear as she held her son.

“I'll do anything! Please, don't kill him! I'll go back! I promise! I'll work for Mr. Mishima again! Just please... don't kill my son!”

Lei's eyes widened at the revelation. So... she said Mr. Mishima. Which one? Kazuya or Heihachi? Lei's pretty sure she's referring to Kazuya, since Heihachi just recently obtained the Mishima Zaibatsu. Plus, G-Corp has done some shady stuff. So that's a clue. Natalie formerly worked for G-Corporation. The thugs are after her because SHE HAS INFORMATION that can put Kazuya behind bars. It all makes sense now.

Lei smirked. The assassin made a fatal mistake: she is attacking Lei on his turf. You know what happens when you fight a war on the enemy soil? They win the war because they know the geography. Lei knows the geography of his house very well. As the assassin got closer to Natalie, Lei used his feet to open up a drawer. Lei then grabs a flashlight with his feet. He gets it to his mouth. Lei then tosses the flashlight at the assassin, hitting her at the back of her head, causing her to go down. Natalie then runs into the bathroom with her son to hide from the assassin. Just as the assassin was going to go after Lei, he kicks a false counter, which was a cart. It runs over the assassin. Now, that should buy him time. Lei then runs and falls down several times hoping to break the oven door. The assassin recovers and that was just what Lei needed. He finally gets free.

The assassin tries to attack Lei, but he hits her in the face with the oven door. He needs to get into his bedroom and grab the key to the handcuffs. He runs into his bedroom. He finds the key. Lei gets down on the ground on his back, but shots were fired, as Lei rolled out of the way. He knocks over the dress stand and the key falls onto the floor. Lei then tries to grab the key, but it was of no use. The assassin continued to fire shots, and finally, the shooting stopped. Lei looked up and saw that Natalie had knocked out the female assassin with an urn that contained someone's ashes. Lei smiled as Natalie handed him the key, but soon, her features were struck with worry as Lei freed himself.

“Phew! That was tough, now to see who it is.” Lei then crouched forward to unmask the assassin, but he noticed he was bleeding again... from his left upper arm. A stray bullet must have gotten him. Lei then felt that his side was hit, too. Regardless, Lei unmasked the assassin. It was an Asian girl... Lei didn't recognize her at all. He was actually kind of expecting Nina, but then again, Nina's better than that. Lei gets the woman on the balcony and cuffs her to the metal bars. Lei then retreats inside, sighing.

“So, you are the real deal...” Natalie says to Lei.

“Of course I am.” He smiled.

“Anyway, I'm afraid I'm going to ask that you take off your shirt.”

Lei smirks. “Strip-searching huh? I like the sound of that.”

“Yes, you might have some hidden weapons on you. I have to make sure I am safe.”

Lei takes off his shirt and puts it down on the bed next to him so that Natalie can patch him up again. Lei watched as she dabbed some cotton balls on his wounds. Once more, she wraps some ace bandage around his side, and his arm. Somehow, Lei finds this more pleasant than he normally would. He's not sure what it is... maybe its because his body has been aching for female affection for quite some time.  Or the fact that an attractive woman is touching his bare-chest.  And Lei doesn't normally take his shirt off in front of attractive women unless it involves the woman taking her shirt off, too.

_Fuck!_ Lei immediately crossed his legs, hoping Natalie wouldn't notice. _Okay, what's something totally disgusting? Master Wang nude... OH MY GOD... MY EYES!!! HELP ME!_

Lei got disturbed by his imagination. It was so vivid, it shocked Lei. He had a completely disturbed look on his face. Too bad he can't unsee what he had just saw. Hopefully, that helps.

“There, you're all better now.”

Lei sighed with relief.

“Aww... did I hurt you?”

“No, not at all, didn't hurt. Not at all.” Lei crossed his arms and pretended nothing happened.

“Well, anyway, I think we should hit the road... I don't know when that assassin will wake up, but I don't want to be here when she does.”

Lei nods in understanding. “I guess I'll just go grab some clothes and leave. Not after I call the cops.”  

And there goes the stomach roar again.  Lei grabbed his stomach and sighed.  "Can we at least eat first?  Do you have any leftovers?"

Natalie shook her head.

"DAMNIT!  I was starving... aghh..."


	4. Science!

After Lei finally got his noodles, to Natalie's dismay, the three were now headed to a motel. Lei didn't grab much things, but Lei did grab his revolver and his badge. Lei noted the look of fear in Natalie's eyes when Lei picked up the gun. Lei figured maybe someone close to her got shot to death. Yes, guns are deadly, but they are also good for protection. Plus, it takes a skilled shot like Lei to fire his weapon without hurting. Just for the sake of pacifying. Lei recalls only using his gun in the line of police work... maybe twelve times in his life. Of course, Lei managed to shoot Nina, while being tackled to the ground. Nina didn't suffer any serious injuries from that, and she managed to escape arrest, thanks to her lawyer, but... as a plea bargain, they took down the Syndicate and saved Steve Fox. It was all in a day's work.

Lei still has to find Feng Wei, but right now, might be the only chance he has at taking down Kazuya. He looks at the rear-view mirror to see Natalie in the back with her sleeping son. Lei couldn't help but smile. It was nice to see a parent treat their child like the way a parent should. It was just refreshing.  More the reason to put Kazuya behind bars! How dare he threaten this bond this woman has with her son? Lei rather not think about this right now.

Finally, Lei parked his car and stopped. They have reached their destination. Lei steps out of the car, and lowers the back seat so that Natalie can get out. She wore the same cloak, as well as the matching one for her son. Lei took her hand, kissed her ring finger and lead her in the motel. They walked up to the room and shut the door. Natalie lead her son to the only bed in the room. The boy then immediately went to sleep, hugging the pillow. Natalie then put the covers over him, and sat on the bedside, stroking his hair before kissing him on the forehead. She then notice... where was Lei going to sleep?

“How do you know if this is the room? I didn't even see you book a room...” Natalie finally said to Lei as he was getting himself situated.

Lei smiled. “Well, you see... I have connections. This is my hiding spot. I usually come here when I'm trying to hide. And I know the manager. Childhood friend of mine. He told me I could come in this room at any time. It's always vacant. Nobody will ever suspect us of anything. Ever.”

“Are you sure? What about the car? You do realize that people after us are going to remember that you drive an old sports car that looks like a Lamborghini. That car kinda sticks out. It doesn't blend in...”

“Well, why do you think I leave that thing in the garage instead of parking it where the residents park their car? Besides, it's a 1983 Mitsubishi Starion... not a Lamborghini. Have some respect.”

Natalie crossed her arms. “Well, we'll see... besides... where will you sleep?”

“No where. I'm gonna take the night duty.” Lei unpacks his suitcase to reveal that he had some energy drink cans. “Somebody has to stay up all night and watch you guys.”

“Yeah, and somebody has to drive to the airport. And it ain't me.”

“Relax. I'm the king of staying up late. I'll be fiiiinee...”

Natalie sighed. “Do what you want. I'm gonna take a smoke break.”

“Smoke break?” Lei asks, surprised.

“Yeah? I need a smoke.”

She grabs a pack of cigarettes from her purse and a lighter. She grabs a cigarette from the box and puts the box away. Lei watched as she did that.

“Well... I'm coming with.”

“You smoke, too?” Natalie asks Lei.

“No, but I have to make sure nobody comes after you.”

“Fair enough, I suppose. And by the way, don't pick up that gun, okay?”

Lei nods in understanding. The two walk outside the room, and stands in front of another hotel on the balcony. He watched as Natalie held the cigarette with her two fingers, and attempts to light it with her lighter. Lei saw she was having trouble. He walked over there and tried helping her light the cigarette. Finally, Lei managed to get the lighter working, and he lit her cigarette. The woman puts the cigarette in her mouth, inhales and exhales with pursed lips. Lei watched as she puffed out smoke, sighing with relief. Lei tries not to inhale it.

“So, what's your story, Detective?” She suddenly asks.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Hey, I'm the one asking questions here... you just answer them.”

“Well, I'm guessing by story you're wondering what I'm doing trying to protect you... well... simple enough. It's my job and I get paid to do this.”

“Well, that's cold. But honest and straight to the point. I like that.” She smiles.

“Yeah, honesty is the best policy.”

“You must be getting paid a lot to be doing this. I bet if you turned me in to whomever is after me, they'll triple your salary.”

“Yeah, but money isn't everything you know.”

“And you just contradicted yourself.” She smiled. “Here you say, you are doing this for the money. And I tell you how you can triple your salary, yet you say, 'Money's not everything'. How is this different?”

Lei groaned a little. “It's dirty money. I don't like that. It's earning money in a dishonest way.”

“So... you have a moral compass then. Since I'm going to be spending a lot of time with you, I would like to get to know you better.”

“I like the sound of that.” He smiled.

“Since you asked about my husband, now it's my turn. What happened to Mrs. Wulong?”

Lei should have seen that coming. “I feel sorry for any girl named Wulong. That's a very manly name.”

Natalie gave Lei a confused look. “Wulong isn't your last name?”

Lei shook his head. “Actually, Wulong is my first name. It's a name my father gave me. It means 'Black Dragon'. Pretty bad-ass, huh? But anyway, I digress, the correct question is 'what happened to Mrs. Lei?' Well... um... here's the thing... she... never existed.” He laughed awkwardly.

Natalie was even more confused than before. “But... you're 32, right? Surely, you've found someone, right?”

“48.” Lei corrected.

“That's even worse! So you mean to tell me, you're 48 years old... and... you've never been married before... let alone... kids?”

Lei nods. “Yep. Bingo.” However, once Lei let that sink in his head for a minute, he just had a shocking revelation. “Holy shit! I'm almost 50... and...” Lei didn't want to say any more. Lei has personally always wanted to get married and settle down, but his career just wouldn't really allow him to do it, let alone find the right woman. Well, Lei felt like he didn't neglect Pai. He saw her about once a week when they started dating and they saw each other more when she moved in with him. And it's been three years since then. Lei kept the apartment, while Pai had already found herself a place. She had gotten all of her things, and the apartment is still mostly empty. And now, Lei's here, trying to protect this woman.

“Wow, you must be lonely.”

Lei sighs. “I am.”

“I suppose that's why they assigned you to protect me.”

That was why Lei was considered one of the best agents in the field. Not just because of his skill, alone, no... he had familial ties that weren't there. He didn't have a family waiting for him at the end of the day. It made it easier to focus on the job. It also allowed Lei to be easily sent to another country with a drop of a hat, without having Lei to try and get his affairs in order or spend a few days with his wife and kids before traveling to another country. Lei would have to study the language on the plane trip to whatever country he is going to. Thankfully, a lot of people speak English as a secondary language. If not English, they spoke either Spanish or French, which Lei can speak fluently. In fact, Lei is fluent in nearly ten languages thanks to his investigations. However, Lei doesn't understand Russian or Polish or Ukrainian.

“And I'm guessing you have no parents either. I didn't see any family pictures at all in your house...”

_So, she's a detective, too? Was she a cop?_   Lei thought about that comment for awhile. Natalie worked for Kazuya. But, she's very smart, and analyzes him so much. What if she was an undercover cop? Well, no matter, there's always a mystery behind this woman that has to be solved. It just seems like normal police work. Lei solves a mystery, and another comes up. Hopefully, Lei finds more about this woman later on.

Natalie then finished smoking, discarding her cigarette in the ashtray as she made her way back inside, but before she entered, Lei stopped her by grabbing her wrist, forcing the shorter woman to turn around and face Lei.

“By the way, the _real_ reason why I'm protecting you is because Kazuya Mishima has already ruined you and your son's lives. I refuse to let him fuck it up any more...” Lei was sincere about this, and that was honestly the true reason.

“..." Natalie didn't say anything in response to Lei's comment.

The two finally made it inside as Lei took a seat in the chair. He grabbed his gun, to Natalie's dismay, and set it in his lap as he watched the woman climb into bed next to her son.

“I think I can sleep now, after I had that smoke...” She smiles. “Keep an eye on us, and don't fire that weapon of yours.”

“Wasn't planning on it.”

With that said, Natalie eventually drifted off to sleep. This gave Lei a chance to go call a friend of his. Lei waited for the phone to pick up, and finally he reached the line.

“Hello?”

“Hey Steve, it's me, Lei.”

“Hey, what's up?”

“Listen, I need you to do me a favor.” Lei said, twirling his gun with his index finger.

“And... what kind of favor is this?”

“I need your help in Japan. You see, I'm supposed to protect this woman and her son from Kazuya's men, and I'm gonna need some extra muscles.” Lei put his gun down on the counter, and propped his feet up on a chair. “Plus... I have a hunch... this woman is the key to stopping Kazuya once and for all. And... she may know of Dr. Kliesen.”

“You don't say...”

“Yeah. She said she worked for G-Corporation, and some assassins are after her. I don't know what her involvement is, yet.  But I'll find out soon."

“You just keep finding reasons for me to come help you, don't you?”

Lei nods, smiling. “Yeah. So... what's the verdict?”

“I will help. I was going to help any way, you didn't have to give me reasons to help you. Besides, anything for someone on the run from assassins. Also, lucky for you, I'm already in Japan. They've been holding a tournament that I was fighting in. So I suppose I'll see you there, tomorrow then, right?”

Lei nods. “Alright, see you later, Steve.”

Natalie didn't fully hear the conversation, as she was trying to sleep, but all she heard is that Lei talked to a guy named Steve who will be helping them. She turns over as Lei continued to stay awake and watch over Natalie and her son. The windows were boarded up, making it harder for him to spot an assassin, as the same for the assassin.

 

The very next morning, Natalie woke up and saw Lei was just having a conversation with her son, who was listening intently.

“...Girls like a guy who's brave, and strong, like me!”

Natalie smiled to herself. It was funny, watching Lei talk to her son, and give him manly advice. Nick is 12, so it makes sense that he's going to be interested in girls. Did Nick ask Lei? Did Nick just seriously start talking to Lei? Already?

“But if that was true, then how come you don't have a wife?”

Yep, that was Nick speaking. It amazed Natalie. It took one day, and the boy immediately warmed up to Lei. Nick takes forever to warm up to people, but with Lei, it didn't take too long. Not too long.

“Well, it's a long story. Plus, there's more to getting girls than just being brave, and strong.” Lei held up his index finger. “The easy part is getting the girl. The hard part is keeping her.”

Nick smiled. “I understand, Mr. Lei. Also... do you like my mother?”

Lei glanced over at Natalie, who was smiling at him. Apparently, Nick didn't know his mom was awake at this point.

“Yeah, I like your mom. She's smart, sweet, and beautiful. I'm surprised no one's found her yet.”

Natalie was flattered Lei said that, but he was probably just saying that. He doesn't really think she's beautiful. As if someone would say mean things about a kid's mother.

“That's because mom's been too busy conducting science experiments for G-Corporation. And we've been running away since Mr. Mishima tried to hurt us about a year ago.”

That was the clue Lei was looking for. So, she's a scientist at G-Corporation. The pieces were slowly falling into place, as the puzzle was now revealing itself. It's all starting to make sense now. Natalie worked for G-Corporation, did many science experiments. Started experimenting on humans and didn't like that so she left, but Kazuya's like, “Hell naw!” and tried to silence her and her kid. Just as he silenced Lei's partner... and almost silenced Bruce. Lei wasn't going to let that evil son of a bitch claim another life!

“Okay, Nikolai, that's enough. C'mon... we need to keep moving, we're going to miss our flight!”

Lei sat up. “Relax, Natalie, or should I say, Dr. Kristovitch, the plane won't leave for another 5 hours. We've got plenty of time. We already ate breakfast... and I have some leftovers in the fridge if you like.” Lei smiled with his eyes closed.

Natalie really didn't need her son blurting out all of her secrets. Now Lei knows that she was one of G-Corporation's top scientists. What's next? She really didn't need Lei to know this, since she knows how Lei despises Kazuya. And Lei's going to probably arrest her. But who's going to take care of Nick?

“I'll think about that. I'll be outside, I'm gonna go smoke.” She digs through her purse and grabs a cigarette. She steps outside while Lei follows her. Nick stayed behind and turned on the TV.

“And here you are... again. Following me. You're very protective, aren't you?”

“Well, I kinda have to. Remember, I'm supposed to protect you?” Lei smiles, resting on the balcony.

Natalie noted that Lei had his gun in his holster. It made her very tense. So many guns... it just terrified her. She made a huge inhale with her cigarette.

“It's 8AM. Do you think there'd be assassins watching our every move?”

“Well, you'd never know. Hence why I'm here, on the look out.”

“What about my son?”

“Well, he's hidden, and you're out in the open, and it kind of sucks that I'm the only one protecting you. Usually, when we have witness protection missions, we have a squad. And usually, we're protecting men. Not attractive women like you.”

Natalie wasn't sure what Lei was doing. Did he just hit on her? She decided to ignore Lei's comment, for now. He's probably one of those guys who flirts with every woman he sees.

“But seriously, though...” Lei's expression became serious. “We need to be extra careful. The hard part is trying to make sure you don't get killed in the next six days. Also... a little birdy told me... you were a scientist at G-Corporation, Dr. Kristovitch.”

She inhaled the cigarette too much and ended up choking. Lei came behind her and slapped her between the shoulder blades and she eventually started coughing and eventually stopped. Lei then rubbed her back, asking in that sweet, concerned voice, “Are you okay?”

Natalie stared into Lei's eyes a lot longer than she wanted to. The same was for Lei, too. They stared for a moment before Natalie finally answered. “Yes, I'm fine now, thank you for asking.” She didn't make a smart-ass comment like Lei had expected. He thought she was going to say, “You just slapped me in the back and made me drop my cigarette, of course I'm not okay!” But she made a soft, gentle response, coupled with a smile. Eventually, Lei finally let go of her.

“It's okay, Dr. Kristovitch.... I'm not mad at you for it.” Well, secretly Lei kinda was. But then again, woman probably didn't know what she was doing. “I just... I wasn't expecting it... is all...”

“What? You think a woman like me who is 'easy on the eyes' doesn't have a brain?” She said this after picking up the cigarette she dropped and debated on if she should continue to smoke or if she should just throw the barely burned out cigarette away. She decided on the latter.

“No, just... that... you was a scientist for Kazuya Mishima. You have a kind heart... I just can't believe you would do such things...”

“Like what?” She placed both hands on her hips.

“Like experimenting on human beings... without their consent.”

Natalie shook her head. “Ya' know Detective Lei, you should never assume... because when you assume you...”

“Make an ass out of u and me. Yeah... and I'm sorry, I automatically assumed you did that. Do you forgive me?”

“Well, I kind'a have to because well, you see... I'm stuck with you for the rest of the week. Might as well forgive you. After all, you were just doing your job.” She looks away, just thinking about that poor experiment she worked with many years ago. The poor boy didn't like being touched and injected with needles.

“ _My name isn't NT-01... it's STEEVE!”_

That's why she quit working for the Mishima Zaibatsu and moved to G-Corporation. It was indeed a crime worse than rape.

“Yeah, you do have a point. But out of curiosity, what did you do?”

“I manufactured drugs.”

“Oh... I see...” Lei didn't buy it. If that's all she did, Kazuya wouldn't be trying to kill her. She did perform those experiments that turned people into atrocious abominations. He could see the guilt in her eyes as she looked away. Lei hoped that they would at least let off with a pardon or probation. He'd hate to leave that poor boy without his mother.

“Well, you're obviously not going to smoke anymore so... I would suggest you go back in.”

Natalie nods in agreement. “I'm going back to smoke some more later... ugh. We're going to catch a flight soon...”

Lei nods. “Yep. And no smoking on the plane.”

Natalie could feel his hand, rest on her shoulder as he lead her back to the room. Once the two made it inside, Natalie helped herself to the food as Lei sat down, pondering about this revelation. Lei grabbed his tablet and began taking notes.

_Let's see here... where do I begin? Let's begin with G-Corporation. I know for a fact that Kazuya Mishima is the head of G-Corporation. He currently has two right-hand men, Anna Williams and Bruce Irvin. Both were his allies during the second tournament. The world sees G-Corporation as the “savior” since the Mishima Zaibatsu started a war and G-Corporation stepped up the plate and fought against the Mishima Zaibatsu. G-Corporation provided medical care and superior military power throughout the world. However, G-Corporation has a darker secret: they use human test subjects in their experiments with the Devil Gene, just as the Mishima Zaibatsu does._

_And I know, a woman by the name of Dr. Emma Kliesen is the conduit. Leo said she was working for G-Corporation when she was killed. Kazuya had killed her, though I have no proof or evidence that he did that. Also, according to Steve, she worked for the Mishima Zaibatsu long before she was killed. Had she not been killed, the case would have been closed. Also it must be worth noting, sometime after the 4 th tournament, G-Corporation had some kind of “civil war” within its company as they sent in Jack-4's that targeted both Heihachi and his son Kazuya._

_Dr. Kristovitch here,_ Lei glanced at the woman and her son interacting with each other.  _Has been on the run for about a year now, according to her son. “Mr. Mishima tried to hurt us... that was about a year ago and Mom and I have been hiding ever since...” I also learned that Natalie was a scientist. Her husband was a scientist, too... and he had died five years ago. I don't know his name, but we'll just call him Dr. Face. Also Dr. Kristovitch's son had stated that the reason why his mom hadn't remarried was because, “[She] was too busy conducting experiments for G-Corporation.” Which leads me to believe, that Dr. Kristovitch is somehow connected to Dr. Kliesen's murder, and the attempted murder of Kazuya Mishima and Heihachi Mishima. Her connection to the latter... that's another story. Saying that she had something to do with Kazuya and Heihachi's attempted murder after the 4th tournament is a bit of a stretch. Noting her disposition around guns, I can only guess that she is a peaceful woman and perhaps she witnessed her husband get shot to death. Or she unwillingly did science experiments, with a gun pointed at her head. So I highly doubt she would be in charge of sending Jack-4's out to kill both Kazuya and Heihachi as an attempt to take over G-Corporation, but somehow, she may have something to do with that. Her connection to Dr. Kliesen's murder is fairly simple: the reason why G-Corporation wants Dr. Kristovitch dead is the very reason why Dr. Kliesen was murdered. I have a hunch that Dr. Kristovitch knew Dr. Kliesen and was allied with her. What if Dr. Kliesen took the fall for Dr. Kristovitch, which lead to her death. She more than likely witnessed Kazuya murder Dr. Kliesen, probably by gunshot, judging by her fear of guns. I'm even willing to add her son said, “Mr. Mishima tried to hurt us” which implies that Kazuya was the one who physically killed Dr. Kliesen and has been hunting down Dr. Kristovitch. In other words, Kazuya didn't hire an assassin to kill Dr. Kliesen. He killed her himself. I plan on finding out the answers as this investigation continues on._

With that, said, Lei saved the note and set down his tablet.

 


	5. The Mile-High Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Leo is a girl, but since this story is told from Lei's POV (mainly), Lei sees Leo as a boy. Anyway that is all. And enjoy this chapter. Don't worry folks, things will get interesting from here on out, now that Lei and the crew has made it to Japan.

The good thing about this, is that the flight to Tokyo is only a four-hour flight from Hong-Kong, which isn’t too bad. Though it could be worse. It’s not going to be too bad if the assassin is on the plane with them. Lei brought his badge, so of course if something were to go down, he could just flash his badge. Plus, the three were seated in first class thanks to Interpol pulling a few strings and Natalie is more hidden. Not many people sit at first class. Plus, it’s a lot easier to manage if something were to go wrong without getting too many civilians involved. It would all be contained in first class. Lei insisted on sitting on the end, while Nick sat by the window, and Natalie just sat in between the two. That way if an assassin came in for Natalie, he’d have to get through Lei first. That’s how this worked. It seemed fool-proof.

One thing that's been bugging Lei, though is the fact that Natalie is a scientist. Or rather _was_ a scientist. Lei tried to imagine this woman in a labcoat with her wild hair all tamed in a messy bun and a pair of glasses. Whenever he did, Natalie would unravel her bun and take off her glasses. _“What? You think a woman like me who is 'easy on the eyes' doesn't have a brain?”_ That's what she would say to him. Granted putting her hair up in the bun made her look her age... well, Lei guesses that Natalie is in her mid-to-late 30's. She looks to be around Lei's age, but all that smoking caused her to age fast. Even though she shows signs of aging, she's still a very gorgeous woman. 

“Well, Dr. Kristovitch, I’ve got good news for you.” Lei said, facing the woman.

“And let me guess, you’re not going to be hanging around me 24/7?” She asks.

“Yep. I’ve asked a friend of mine, who is in Tokyo. He’ll take care of you, so you can catch a break from me.”

“So, you’re going to leave your friend responsible for our safety?” The ex-scientist crossed her arms.

“Well, only temporarily. I’m still going to keep an eye on you, just that…” He yawned, covering his mouth with his fist. “I’m only human. I can’t watch you every waking hour. So… I’m going to… take a nap.”

The woman frowned. “I knew that was a bad idea, letting you stay up all night!”

“Relax, woman… it was for your own safety.”

“And no assassin got us. You really could have slept.”

“What if there really was an assassin? You’re not a martial artist, so you really can’t defend yourself. Plus, you hate guns. So, how will you survive without me being around?”

“Simple, I could have woken you up.”

“But by then, the assassin would have already gotten you. You see, assassins are sneaky, and quiet. They'll get you without knowing they're there.”  
  
“I'm not too sure about that.” Nick said to Lei, disagreeing with him.

“What makes you think that?” Lei asks the boy.

“I may not be able to see, but I still have ears, Mr. Lei. I can hear them.”

Lei nods. “I see. That's why you knew about that assassin in my apartment. But also, assassins like to hide out in a building several km away. And your ear-range doesn't go out that far.”

“Neither do your eyes.”

“But I've got _binoculars_!” 

“And that's why amplifiers for your ears are a thing.”

Lei nods, as the boy has a good case.

“Well, just let Detective Lei do his job, Nikolai.”

The boy pouted. “Okay, Mom.”

Lei then smiled, yawning again. “Well, Nick, I'll let you take over while I take a nap. Wake me up if anything happens.” Lei then lowered his seat and closed his eyes.

Without further ado, Lei had fallen asleep. Natalie sighed as she wondered what to do for the next four hours. However, all she could think about was what she was going to do if Lei's plan actually worked. She thought about returning to Russia and forget everything that has happened. Hopefully, they can be themselves again instead of running from Kazuya all this time.

In just about an hour or so, one of the stewardesses came up to Natalie with a tray and a silver platter. Natalie and Nick didn't order food, and neither did Lei, who was still asleep. The woman was a petite Asian woman who didn't look anything out of the ordinary until Natalie took notice of her tattoo on the back of her neck.

“Hello, Mrs. Kristovitch, we've got your plate ready.”

“I didn't order food.” Natalie says.

The woman then opens the platter to reveal a pistol with a silencer. Natalie screamed and shook Lei at an attempt to wake him up, but he didn't budge. The woman points the pistol at the woman's forehead, just about to end her, but Lei pushed the cart, throwing off the assassin's aim, as she fired the roof of the plane. People nearby screamed in panic as Lei got up.

“Detective Lei! About time! Did you see, I almo_”

“Whoops... Heheheheheh... Sorry about that... I just wanted to give the assassin an element of surprise. I didn't realize how bad my timing was.”

“You almost had me killed!”

“I said I was sorry...” Lei shrugged.

Once the assassin recovered, she did not hesitate to try and shoot Lei in this crowded aisle. She pointed her gun right at Lei's forehead. Natalie closed her eyes, covering her son's ears, waiting for Lei to get shot. However, Lei kicks the woman in her stomach, slams his forearm onto her elbow, and retrieves the gun. Lei immediately unloads it and tosses it to the side. The assassin then tried targeting Lei's pressure points, but he disappeared. Natalie then wondered where did Lei go. Just moments later, Natalie saw Lei's feet kick the woman in the shin, without changing his feet, he quickly goes into Crouching Snake Stance and sends in what looks like a strong snake-bite (Angry Viper) that sent the assassin flying upon the back of someone's seat. She groans in pain as Lei pulls out his handcuffs and cuffs the woman. Lei explains the entire situation to one of the pilots and they agreed to contact the police and turn her in once they hit land. Lei then made sure the woman wouldn't get free, by tying her to her seat. Luckily, the Air Marshall was on board and agreed to keep an eye on the assassin. Lei returned to his seat, with Natalie, staring at him in confusion. She got a little taste of what Lei was capable of back at his apartment. He had managed to free himself from his oven, and managed to use that as a weapon. Not once did Natalie ever see Lei use his gun to end it quickly. No, he just knocks out his attackers and lets the cops handle it. It amazed her to see how much faith Lei has in law enforcement. But now, after seeing Lei single-handedly take out yet another professional assassin, without killing her, Natalie knew that she was going to live to see her son's high school graduation. It was a pleasant feeling. Lei's a great protector. Finally, Lei returned to his seat, yawning as he stretched.

“Now, where was I?” Lei asks Natalie and her son.

“You were sleeping. Go back to sleep.” Natalie replied.

“Okay. I doubt that we will running into any more problems. However, I must say... it isn't over yet. Something tells me that assassin on this plane is a ruse.”

“And... what makes you think that? She had a gun pointed at me! She actually fired a shot.”

“I'm not saying she wasn't trying to kill you. I'm just saying, there are certainly better ways to kill someone, being on a crowded plane isn't one of them. Perhaps there is a group of people here... she was probably sent to take the fall and collect intel.” Lei paused to yawn after making that statement. “Probably heard that the famed 'Supercop' is protecting you, and had to see for herself. Usually, when criminals find out that I'm on the case, they usually sh_shy away from the case.” Lei almost forgot that Nick was present. If anything, he doesn't like swearing in front of children.

“Supercop?” Natalie stares at Lei in confusion. She heard rumors about how this “Supercop” from China is an unstoppable force. He is not a force to be reckoned with. Was Lei this, legendary, “Supercop?”

“Yeah. It's a nickname people have given me over the years. Simply because I'm an adept fighter, and well... I managed to take down the man who practically controlled the entire city.”

Natalie has heard of Lei. She knows about his exploits and involvement with investigating the Mishima Zaibatsu, as well as being a regular contestant at the tournaments. He always has someone behind bars by the end of the tournament. It's no wonder he took out those assassins. No wonder his boss assigned Lei this mission. Lei's the Supercop.

“Apparently, I'm made out to be some kind of legend... Hell, even some movies are based on me. And I have no idea why. I mean, I was just doing my job.” Lei shrugged. “Makes my job easier, though. I'm not complaining.”

“You're the Super Cop?” Nick finally says.

“Yep. I am. I told ya' I was the best policeman in the world!”

“Cool! I hope you get to catch Mr. Mishima.”

“I'm sure I will.” He had a coy grin. “So, once we hit land, we need to be on our guard. I'm almost certain that there is a highly skilled assassin waiting for us, once we all hit land. My buddy will rendezvous immediately as soon as we get there. He'll hopefully lead us to safety from there.” Lei then had a stern look afterwards.

Natalie nods in understanding. “I'll stay close to you.”

“Yes, it's harder for an assassin to hit a target that is close to people. They have to be isolated. Kinda like how the lions hunt the animal that is out of the herd.”

“I see...”

“If you'll excuse me, I have sleep to catch up on.” Lei yawned, closing his eyes.

Once Lei went to sleep, Nick smiled at his mother. “I think Mr. Lei will keep us safe, Mom.”

“I sure hope so... I'm sure Lei and his buddy will keep us safe.”

“You don't seem to sure... Mom.”

“I'm not very sure, myself. Only time will tell.” She lets out a heavy sigh and smiled.

Lei listened to the two speak. It brought a smile to his face. Lei enjoyed seeing mothers being civil to their children. It just warms his heart. It restored faith in humanity for him.

Once they hit land, Lei took the assassin and handed her over to the Tokyo police who were waiting for her. Lei then finds Steve, and the young man whom Lei had promised he would find his mom's murderer. He was surprised to see Leo here. Maybe Steve passed on the news to him. Lei, holding Natalie's hand, and Nick's hand as well, made their way to Steve's car and they all sat in the back seat, Lei choosing to sit by the window with Nick in Natalie's lap, with Leo on the other side of Natalie. Lei says that it makes it harder for the assassin to lock-on.

“So, you're Dr. Kristovitch.” Steve finally said.

Natalie nods. “Yes, I am she.”

“I've got lots of questions for you, first off, what experiments did you do to people?”

Natalie wasn't expecting that question. She should have known. This was something she didn't like to answer.  
  
“She didn't do science experiments. She was part of G-Corp's pharmaceutical department.” Lei butted in to Natalie's relief.

Leo then butted in with another question, “Did you know my mother, Dr. Kliesen?”

“Please save your questions until later. This woman is clearly in distress. Plus, let me ask the questions okay? Tell me your questions, and I'll ask that woman those questions later.”

Everyone fell silent as Natalie was relieved once more. She wasn't ready to reveal anything yet, and Lei knew. He looked toward the woman as she smiled at him.

“On top of that, we need to get to safety. That's our number one priority. Everything else can wait. Okay?”

Leo groaned as Steve sighed.

“I'm glad we came to an understanding.”

 

Later on, at the hotel that the Interpol booked, Lei had gotten a suite that contained two bedrooms, as Lei didn't want to share a room with Natalie, as he thought it would be better if he and Natalie stayed in separate rooms as he didn't want to violate the woman's privacy. But he got the adjacent rooms, and unlocked the side door, that way, if Natalie or her son needed Lei for anything, they can just go next door. Lei opted out of the balcony view, as an assassin can easily crawl in unnoticed. They also have a great view of the room. Lei also checked in under an alias. That way assassins won't track them down. Lei told the hotel that Natalie was his wife and Nick was his son. He then added that Steve and Leo were Natalie's brothers and that they were in Japan, sight-seeing. Hopefully, that will keep the assassins off their trail. One thing that bothered Lei is that why would Interpol give them a nice hotel? It's a lot easier to hide in a run-down motel, but then again there are less hired thugs in this area. Maybe Interpol did this to give everyone something to do while they wait for the trial. Once everyone unpacked, Lei placed a hand on Steve.

“Buddy, I'm leaving Dr. Kristovitch and her son under your care. Okay? Please look after them.” Lei looked over at Natalie and Nick.

Lei then walks over to Leo, the two doing a bow. “Leo, I know what you're capable of. I'm sure you and Steve will keep the two safe, yes?”

Leo nods. “I'll keep them safe.”

“Good. I'm counting on ya'.”

Finally, Lei leans over to be eye-level with the young man. He ruffles the boy's hair, before saying, “Nick, mommy needs your help. You'll protect her, won't you?”

Nick smiled. “Yes, Mr. Lei, I'll protect Mommy!”

Lei stood up to his full height to walk over and stand in front of Natalie. “You have my number, right? Well, I'll turn my phone all the way so that if you call, I will be able to hear you. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything, okay?”

Natalie nods in understanding.

“Good. Well, I'm gonna go do some paperwork and I'll take a nice little nap. Leo, Steve, Nick, keep Dr. Kristovitch safe, okay?”

Everyone nodded and they eventually took off and left. Once Lei was left alone, he made note that G-Corporation is after Natalie. Leo and Steve won't just do. Lei had to get more help. He then sent a text message to Xiaoyu. She's very capable, despite her youth. He also wondered if Christie was in Tokyo, it was likely that she was still in Japan, looking for Eddy. Lei helped her find out that he was working for the Mishima Zaibatsu, but after the war, Eddy just disappeared. Lei tried finding him, but no luck. Not too long after, Lei attended the funeral with Christie, understanding what it is like to lose an immediate family member. Eddy appeared once more, but he left before Lei could say anything. Christie thanked him for his cooperation and the two went off on their separate ways. Lei's not sure if Christie could do the job as well as Steve and Leo would. But it was worth a shot. Finally, Lei decided to contact Julia, see if she can pull some strings and find information about Natalie behind the scenes. None of the women responded back. Lei was going to wait awhile. He sighed as he laid down on the bed. All he ever thought about was Natalie. She was sarcastic, smart, and a great mother. She's done everything for the sake of her own son. She was such a woman.   On top of this, she's very gorgeous, and beautiful, especially for her age.  Lei then noted how she handled that cigarette earlier today... the way she pursed her lips.  And of course, the only reason why Lei is taking a nap in the first place is because Natalie urged Lei to go to sleep and take a nap.  She cares about him.  Lei hoped if anything that this woman is completely innocent. Lei then found himself wondering if Natalie thought of him, also.

“Oh what am I doing? Of course she's thinking about me... as I am thinking about her...” Lei muttered to himself before finally going to sleep.

 


	6. The Plot Thickens

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Yes, I know, Leo's a girl. But again, I will say it. This fic is mostly told from Lei's POV. And he perceives Leo to be a boy. Also, everyone else sees Leo as a boy as well. That is all.

Lei woke up from his nap once more.  Lei just couldn’t help but notice that Natalie always insists on Lei taking naps.  It’s almost like she has no idea of the brevity of the situation.  Lei even wonders if she’s been trying to get Lei to sleep so he wouldn’t find out about her.  Lei could tell by her body language, that she’s the type of person who doesn’t take too kindly to strangers.  But she’s also a sincere and kind woman, despite being a little brash at times.  Lei wants to think that she is genuinely concerned for him, with his sleep cycle being messed up and erratic, but isn’t sure that’s the case.  Why would she get Lei to take a nap after he cut his hand?  That just seems a bit odd.  But Lei figured it was because she honestly didn’t want to be around him and wanted to just put Lei on the back-burner.  Plus, Lei noted that this woman hasn’t tried to run away.  Maybe she does trust him.  Lei sat up, scratching his hair as he checked the messages.   Christie answered and said that she was still in Japan.  Lei replied back and asked her if she would like to help assist him in police work.  She soon replied and said yes.  Lei tells her where he currently is.  Julia and Xiaoyu haven’t answered yet.  Christie then added that she will be there tomorrow afternoon.  Lei looked at the time and noted that he only slept for three hours.  Once Lei got dressed, he noted that Natalie had not returned yet, so that leaves Lei room to do some more paperwork.  Oh, that’s Lei’s favorite part of his job!  Doing paperwork.  Lei then sat up and grabbed his tablet where he had been taking notes.  He added more information before putting on his clothes and heading out.  Lei figured he’d check in at the Tokyo branch of the ICPO office and get further info.  He leaves Steve a message and makes his way out to the ICPO.  However, Lei realized, it would be best if he brought Natalie with him.  So he calls Steve, wondering where he is.  Steve says that they are in the lobby, and Lei meets the group there.

“Did you get a good rest?” Steve asked Lei.

“Yeah.  I’m ready to go.  Well, I need to go to Interpol and check in.  I might be able to get some equipment from them.”

“Equipment?” Natalie asks Lei in confusion.

“Yeah, maybe some goggles, bulletproof vest, that kind of thing.”

“You’re being a little dramatic here…” Steve said to Lei.

“Well, there was an assassin on the plane… so it wouldn’t hurt to be a bit more prepared.  As far as I’m concerned, they’re probably going to go after me.  So, I might need some equipment for better protection.” 

“An assassin actually attacked you on the plane?!”

“It must be very serious then.” Leo added.

Natalie and Lei both nodded.  “Good thing for my kick-butt skills, otherwise this lovely lady and her smart son wouldn’t be here right now.  But anyway, let’s go.”  Lei grabbed Natalie’s hand and kindly escorted her to his rental car.  Nick tagged along as well.

They made it to the ICPO Tokyo branch without incident.  Lei checked in and of course, they were informed of the assassin on the plane.  Nobody got info out of her, but Lei suspected that she was hired by the same person who hired the woman in his house.  As requested, Lei got several Kevlar vests, a riot shield, some bullet-proof helmets, thermal and night goggles, and a small handgun to give to Natalie, but she refused to touch it.  Lei decided to keep it to himself for later.  Once everything was taken care of and loaded to the car, Lei could only ask Natalie this, “Why do you hate guns so much?  I’m just curious.” Reality is Lei was hoping that her fear of guns will reveal more evidence. 

“Mommy said that daddy was killed by a gun.” Nick interjected before he hopped in the car.

“Hm… is that so?  That makes two of us then…” Which was true.  Lei’s own father was killed by a gun.  If memory serves, his dad was shot… five or six times.  Lei couldn’t quite remember too much.  He only knows the details from filed police reports dating back 45 years ago.  He understands Nick’s pain, and Natalie’s as well.  It’s not easy losing a loved one due to fatal gunshot wounds.

“Your father was shot to death?” Natalie asks Lei.

“Yeah… apparently so.  I don’t remember much.  I was 3 at the time…” He looked away.  “He had been paying this guy protection money from the other gangs in the town.  And well, he didn’t have the money to pay up, so um… they caught him getting off of work and gunned him down.  At least according to my grandmother… I don’t remember much… And yes… I know it’s very cliché, but that’s literally why I became a cop.  I wanted to find my dad’s murderers.  And I did.  How’s that for a superhero origin story?”  Lei smiled, trying to lighten the mood.  But he knew it was futile.

“Yes, my husband was shot to death, just as Nikolai had said.”

“And you watched him die?”

“…Yeah…”

There was hesitation in that sentence. 

“I’m sorry for asking.  I know it’s hard… I probably should have never asked…”

“It’s fine.  You were just curious is all.”

Lei held the door open for Natalie to get in.  She thanked Lei, and within moments later, Lei got in the small coupe and started the engine and took off.

“So, anybody need anything from the store?”

Nick and Natalie both shook their heads. 

“Alright then, let’s keep going.”

Once back at the hotel, Lei managed to smuggle all the items in.  Lei put them all in his room.   After everything was situated, everyone could continue their routine.  Lei said it was smart to stay in the hotel and if anyone went out, they needed sunglasses and huge hats.  Later on that evening, Natalie announces her bedtime and after waiting,  Steve and Leo were free to talk.

“We found some information about Dr. Kristovich.” Leo said.

“I have some as well,” Lei added.

“My information is that her husband was a scientist who studied microbiology.  And his name was Cesar and he was from France.”

Lei nods.  “And he was killed by gunshot six years ago.”

“He probably worked for the Zaibatsu or G-Corporation.” Steve added.

“Perhaps so.  I wonder if we can look up the staff name under the Mishima Zaibatsu database and look for a French-sounding name accompanied with César.” 

“I have information on the Devil experiment mom was a part of.”  Leo replied, holding up his flash drive.   “It had a list of names.  You think maybe César is on it?”

“Let’s go ahead and check it out.   Pop it in, son.”

Lei grabbed his laptop and allowed Leo to connect to it and bring up the files.  This was the Devil Gene experiment that involved Steve and other children.   They experimented on a total of 12 children, and all of them died, so the Devil Gene experiment was a total failure.  They browse through the files hoping to find Cesar, and they did. 

“Dr. Cesar Vigneault was the director of the Devil Gene project.  He made the synthetic strand of the Devil Gene that he used on the children.  He attempted to make a good formula, until eventually, due to the fatalities of the experiments, they cancelled the project.”  Lei read this outloud.  “However, Dr. Vigneault later quit the Mishima Zaibatsu and joined G-Corporation to continue his studies.  He experimented on more children, but this formula didn’t cause any fatalities…”

“So there’s more people with the Devil Gene like me out there?” Steve asks.

Lei nods.  “Apparently, so… maybe those were the G-Corporation test subjects that Armor King freed… We’ll have to find Armor King.”

“I tried talking to him, but he denied everything.” Leo replied.

“Maybe he thought you were a ‘Mishima lapdog’.  That’s what I kept hearing.”

Lei nods.  “Yeah… the sixth tournament was chaotic.  So yes, Armor King is our main lead.  Someone has to go find him… I can’t go see him myself…”

“Maybe Xiaoyu can help.” Steve suggested.

“I’ve already contacted her.  I also contacted Christie and Julia.  They should be able to help.” 

“Good idea!  But I don’t know how Christie will be helpful.  All she does is try and look for Eddy.  That’s all she cares about…”

Lei nods.  “She and I had an agreement.  We’d help each other out when needed.  Plus, she’s a Capoeira master.”  Lei then paused and snapped his fingers.  “This is becoming clearer now.   Maybe her husband’s death is due to the Devil Gene experiments he conducted.  Maybe he was using the research for his own benefit.  Kazuya had him executed in front of his wife.  Or maybe someone else executed him.  Judging by Dr. Kristovitch’s reaction, it was probably Mishima Zaibatsu staff.  Probably the Tekken Force more than likely.   Heihachi didn’t want to Devil Gene formula to fall into the wrong hands after finding out how successful Dr. Vigneault was after transferring to G-Corp.  Maybe he asked him to share his findings, yada-yada, and Dr. Kristovitch was there, and bam, he’s dead.  Or maybe the Tekken Force did a raid and Dr. Vigneault was killed in the process, and Dr. Kristovitch ran away and escaped somehow.”

“It sounds feasible.  It makes sense.”

“This may be the only shot we have at taking down the Mishimas.  We have to keep Dr. Kristovitch alive… and we need to extract more information from her.  Also, we need to find Armor King, and get more information on Dr. Vigneault.”

Leo and Steve both nodded at Lei’s suggestion. 

“Remember,” Lei ejects the flashdrive and closes his laptop.  “We can’t testify without evidence.  We need to find evidence.”

With a few closing remarks, Steve and Leo left the hotel, as Lei walked through the adjacent door to check on Natalie and her son.  Her son was sleeping, but Natalie was still awake.  Lei hoped she wasn’t eavesdropping on the three men.

“I’m fine, thank you.  Now you can go back to doing whatever it was before you came to check on us.”

Lei shrugged.  “Okay.” He does as asked. 

He wasn’t particularly expecting the woman to be so abrupt, but could he blame her?  She was tired.  She hasn’t had a smoke all day, and she’s on the run for her life.  Extracting info from her will be no easy feat, but it can be done.  Already, they’ve figured out that her husband has strong ties to the Devil Gene experiments for the Zaibatsu and the G-Corp.  Was Dr. Kristovitch part of it?  Lei’s not sure, but he will be able to find out pretty soon.

Lei grabbed his tablet and took notes.

_Day 2, and I have gotten more information regarding Dr. Kristovitch and the Mishima Zaibatsu and G-Corporation.  As suspected, she did witness her husband get shot and killed in front of her just five years ago.  That doesn’t fully explain her disposition around guns, but it’s off to a good start.  However, I have confirmed the identity of her deceased husband, Dr. Cesar Vigneault.  According to my sources, he was the head of the Devil Gene experiments on 12 children one of which is the British middle-weight champion, Steve Fox.  He later quit working for the Zaibatsu and started working for G-Corporation.  There he found better success with his work.  I suspect that possibly, the test subjects that Armor King freed were Dr. Vigneault’s test subjects.  I believe that Dr. Vigneault may have been killed during a Tekken Force raid that Dr. Kristovitch survived.  So far, this case is starting to come to a close.  Dr. Kristovitch and her son are to be killed due to the fact that possibly, Dr. Kristovitch didn’t like G-Corporation’s practices and the modifications that were done to her late husband’s experiments.  She probably teamed up with Dr. Kliesen and wanted to expose the world the evils of the two corporations, but Dr. Kliesen was killed and Dr. Kristovitch managed to escape with her son.  One thing that must be noted is this: Dr. Kristovitch’s son is a target, too.  In fact, when Dr. Kristovitch was held at gunpoint, she pleaded for the assassin not to kill her son.  I didn’t get it at first.  But now I realize.  Even though both assassins were aiming for the doctor, she immediately feared for her son’s life.  If I had a kid, and I was held at gun point, of course I would fear my child’s life, but I would tell them to run away.  I wouldn’t plead with my killer not to kill my son.  Well, I would, but… it’s a common theme here.  I also noted, Dr. Krisovitch would hide with her son.  What if her son is the real target?  And Dr. Kristovitch is the bonus?  Also, note in my previous report, the son stated “Mr. Mishima tried to hurt us.”  He used the pronoun, “us”, implying that Kazuya wasn’t just after Dr. Kristovitch.  He’s after the son, too.  But why?  Why would anyone want to kill her son?  Unless… there is something special about that child.  Yes, he’s blind, and refuses to talk to stranger, and he would cling onto his mother, but there’s something deeper.  What if Kazuya’s motives aren’t because of what Dr. Kristovtich did, but rather, he hated her husband so much, he wants to kill his entire family… no… that theory doesn’t make sense.  But regardless, there’s definitely something going on…_

Lei saved the file and put down his tablet.  That was a recent revelation Lei had while he was taking notes.  Nick was the main target.  It was all starting to fall into place.  The only problem is why would Kazuya want an innocent boy dead just because of something his parents did.  As cruel as Kazuya is, he wouldn’t stoop as low as to harming innocent people to have his way, but Heihachi on the other hand, he would definitely do such a thing.

“Ugh… my head hurts…” Lei rubbed his temples.  “So much thinking…”

Lei was going to lay down and see if he can figure things out.


	7. Mallrats

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been awhile since the last update. I hope you folks enjoy. Here's where Lei's personal life kicks in with a few love triangles along the way. Also I had inspiration from Jackie Chan's mall scene from Police Story. But anyway folks, enjoy!

Lei stretched his arms and yawned as he got out of bed.  However, he didn’t notice that Natalie was sitting on the chair next to his bed, reading something.  Thankfully, Lei wore his blue-green tank top and black boxers to bed, so he was still presentable.

“Good morning.” Natalie says to Lei.

“Morning.  Got too impatient, eh?” Lei replied.

“No, actually, I’m a stalker.”

Lei smiled.  “I’m glad.  I have a cute stalker.” 

“Oh Detective Lei, I can’t help myself… you’re so gorgeous!”  Although Natalie was being very sarcastic, he couldn’t help but wonder if she really found him attractive, or the exact opposite. 

Lei then cleared his throat.   “Anyway, I got word that Christie Monteiro will be helping us defend you, as well as my good friend Xiaoyu.”  Lei grabs some clothes. 

“Do you really think having all those people protecting me is necessary?”

Lei nods.  “Of course.  I’m not just exaggerating.  The more, the merrier.  It makes protecting you easier.  We will have more eyes and ears keeping a look out for your special interest.  If an assassin tries to kill you, they need to do it, while avoiding five people.  That’s why lions have a hard time catching their prey.  It helps that you’re really short, and petite.  Makes it even harder for the assassin to aim.”

Natalie sat with her legs crossed.  “And you know this, how?”

Lei watched Natalie cross her legs, and Lei couldn’t help but smile a little.  “I’ve been targeted one or two times, but get most of my info from the forensic reports at the crime scene, and as a detective solving crime.  I also have a Bachelor’s Degree in psychology.” 

“Oh, so you’re college-educated.  Explains why you’re so smart.  Well, you see, Lei.  I have two Doctorates Degrees.  One is in biology, and the other is in organic chemistry.  I was in school for ten years.  I was one of Ukraine’s top students at the Lugansk Medical University.  I got hired, met my husband at work, and now, here I am…”

Lei set his clothes down on the corner of his bed and takes a seat on the bed next to Natalie.  “So, you went to college, too… I could have personally went and got my Masters, but I was sick and tired of college at this point.  I wanted to be a cop already.  Plus, due to my background and degree, I became a detective two years later.  It’s nice to meet an educated woman for once.” 

Lei hasn’t met many educated women.  The only ones that he has met were from abroad.  Julia, Anna, one of his clients from Britain, etc.  It’s because women who are educated aren’t able to find a husband to marry, due to the stigma that women who are educated are ball-busting man-haters and make horrible wives, due to the fact that they will ignore their wifely duties.  Lei believed that nonsense at first until he met several mothers who had a job, and they were still able to take care of their kids.  Plus, Lei would personally be with a woman who can actually work at a job that makes as much money as Lei, since he has a hard time buying his movie collection and his electronic gadgets, due to having “priorities”.  Pai only worked at as a clerk at a local supermarket.  She didn’t have much money left over, and as a result, Lei had to buy things for her.  Another reason why he had such a hard time collecting movies and all the awesome Sony products.  Lei wondered if it was possible to keep his collection going, if he were to… hypothetically speaking… date Natalie.  Right now, being single, Lei can actually afford to upgrade his home system, as he now needs a new TV.

“I know.  In China, educated women are seen as ball-busting man-haters.  And they make horrible wives.  And they’re horrible in bed.  I’m glad you’re not one of those ‘Kindle Kurche Kinder’ men like I thought you would when I first met you.”

“Kindle, Kurche, Kinder?” Lei asks, confused as he doesn’t understand German, which is another one of those Eastern European languages that Lei doesn’t speak.

“Kindle, Kruche, and Kinder is a German phrase.  Basically, it is literally translated to, ‘Children, Church, and Kitchen’.  That’s basically an old saying describing a woman’s purpose in life.  I’m not one to sit back and cook meals and pop out babies for a man.  I rather make of my life the way I see fit.”

Lei smiled.  “You seem to be able to take care of your son, on your own, despite having a career…”

Natalie leaned forward a little.  “Now, tell me, Detective Lei, have you ever been with a woman who was more educated or as educated as you are?”

Lei smiled at her comment.  He wasn’t sure if she was flirting or just being her usual sassy self.  Or if she was really curious.  “No, I haven’t.  Every woman that I’ve dated didn’t work at professional jobs.  None of them went to college… I never dated a woman who has been to college.”

“Would you like to know?”

Before Lei could say anything Nick came in.  “I couldn’t figure out where you went, so I figured you were here.”

Natalie stood up to walk over to her son.  “Mr. Lei here needs a shower… let’s go give him some privacy.”

“Okay, Mom, but why are you in his room?  Mom?  Is he one of those guys who_”, 

“Nonsense, we were just having a friendly conversation just as you had with him earlier yesterday.”

Natalie and her son left as Lei couldn’t help but smile.  It was no wonder Natalie couldn’t find a man.  She’s too busy tending to her son, she has no time for a boyfriend.  She’s a lovely lady indeed.  He also notes the boy’s reaction.  Lei wonders if Natalie has had multiple lovers or flings.  The woman appears to be… somewhat flirty.  Lei wasn’t sure if that’s just her being a complete smart ass, or if she really found him attractive.  Pushing that thought back in his head, Lei checks his phone.  Julia said she’s got a wrestling match to go to, and Lei asked her to talk to Armor King about the G-Corporation test subjects.  Julia replies and said she will do that.  Lei smiles.  However, soon after getting a reply, Lei receives a message from an unknown number that reads, “Lei, I need to speak to you.  It’s really urgent.”  He wasn’t sure who that was, but didn’t answer it as he had no idea who it is, and how they got his number.  Lei noted that they didn’t even tell him who they were.  It made him extremely suspicious.  Lei doesn’t give out his numbers to strangers… but regardless, Lei didn’t answer the message, nor bothered trying to call whomever it is.  He blocked the number and immediately stepped in the shower.  Once Lei got in, his phone buzzed once more, with another message that reads, “It’s me, Pai.  We really need to talk.”, just before his phone deleted the message.

Leo and Steve and Lei all maintained that same formation as before.  They were going to meet Christie at a mall.  It’s a good place, makes it harder and easier for the assassin to track them down.  In the grand scheme of things, it’s harder for them to hit their target, until they get isolated.  Christie said to meet her at the food court.   And the group are, sitting down, waiting for Christie.

“While we’re here, maybe I can buy some clothes.” Natalie suggested.

“That wouldn’t be a bad idea.  You guys don’t blend in too well,” said Steve.

“You look like a pair of hobos.” Leo added.

They were right.   Natalie needed some clothes.  She couldn’t keep running around in those black clothes that look worn, and her frizzy red hair stealing the show.  “Maybe Christie can take you shopping.” Lei said.

“Finally, another female whom I can hang out with.   I was getting tired of being surrounded by men.  I need to hang out with women to stay sane.”  Natalie was being sarcastic.

“We get the point...” Steve commented.

“I didn’t mean it like that.   No, I was just saying.  I’m not going into a women’s clothing store…” Lei held his hands up in defense as Nick smiled.  “Guys back me up on this.”

“Lei, I don’t see the problem…”

“Are you so insecure about your manliness that you refuse to do feminine things, yet didn’t I see you run around in a pink shirt?”

Natalie laughed.  “He wore a pink shirt?”

“Hey, it wasn’t pink.  It was salmon-colored.”  Lei defended himself.

“No, it was nice hot pink.”

Lei sighed.  “It was black, but I accidentally washed it in bleach!”

Everyone laughed at Lei’s comment.

Finally, Christie showed up.  Steve had a hard time recognizing her with her hair down.  She made her way to the table where the group sat.

"Hello.  How is everyone doing?”  Christie asks.

Wait for it...

"Did anyone of you guys manage to find Eddy?"

That's Christie for ya’.  She's always asking about Eddy.  Lei admired her tenacity and determination, but the lady needs to let go.  There is a wise saying, “If you love someone, let them go.  If they don’t come back, they weren’t yours to begin with.  If they come back, they loved you.”  Christie should honestly stop chasing Eddy and wait for him to go to her.  If he doesn’t come back, then all he did was waste her time.  If he does, then Christie will be very happy and she will have grown to become a better woman.  Lei let Jun go.  She has come back to him, but by then Lei had accepted that they weren’t meant to be.  He let Pai go.  She never came back.   She had a baby with another man and the two are raising it together.  Lei didn’t need to go chasing after her, no matter how much he ~~loved~~ missed her. 

“Unfortunately, I have no leads.  I mentioned that before.” Lei finally said, as he stood up.  "But I still need your help.  This woman may have zero connection to Eddy, but I need some skilled fighters to help.  I also need someone who Is positive and upbeat who can raise our morale more than anything.  This is why I called you here to help.  So Christie, what do you say?  Are you up for the challenge?  Hm?”

“Absolutely.  As long as I don’t get hurt!” 

“You can just be the spotter and make Dr. Kristovtich here comfortable.”  Lei smiled.  But he was sure that Christie wouldn’t get hurt.  She won’t have as big of a role as Leo and Steve do, two guys that Lei knows are fully capable of taking on assassins.

“So um… aren’t you going to introduce me to your friend here?” Natalie asks Lei as she stood up.

“Yes, of course, Dr. Krisovitch, this is Christie Montiero, Capoeira master.  Yes, those flips and kicks are lethal, don’t underestimate.  I learned that the hard way.” Lei grinned sheepishly.

“And who is that handsome little boy? Is that your kid?” Christie asks Natalie as she eyed Nick, who was blushing.

“Yes, he is my son.  He’s only 12, but he’s a smart kid.  He is a little socially awkward, but that’s because he’s been homeschooled.”  She smiles. 

Nick blushed a little as he turned away. 

“So, she’s here now, what is our next move?” Leo asks Lei.

“I think we should focus on getting Dr. Krisovitch and her son here blended in more.  Hopefully, by doing that, we can all take turns looking out after them.  I’m hoping that by trial, there should be no casualties.”

“And how are we going to do that?”

“Christie should help the two get some nice clothes.  In the meantime, you, Steve, and I should all be on the prowl for anyone suspicious.  We can search this entire mall and see if we can find anyone who has connections to G-Corporation.”

“Are we going on a witch hunt?”

“Not exactly, but it never hurts to be extra careful.  The assassin on the plane probably more than likely contacted her employers and informed them of our whereabouts.  Or it’s very likely that Kazuya issued a bounty out on their heads to the local Yakuza.  Either way, we need to be extra careful.”

Lei then handed Natalie his credit card and told her to go buy some clothes while Steve, Leo, and himself all go scouting. 

“C’mon, Dr. Krisovitch, I know of a good place where you can get your clothes.”  Christie says before the three set off.

“Xiaoyu’s supposed to be here soon, as well.  But for right now, we have some investigation to do, just the three of us, which brings me to my new theory.  What if G-Corporation is after Nick?  Dr. Kristovitch is constantly worried about her son, and on top of it, Nick said that Kazuya physically put his hands on him.”

“Gross!” Steve blurted.

Lei’s eyes narrowed.  “I meant as in attack him.  Damnit, Steve, get your mind out of the gutter.”

“Which means, that they probably knew my mother!”

“I agree, but we can’t go force information out of her like that.  We have to coax her… you know.  She needs to be eased into this.  I don’t even think she trusts us enough just yet, but we will have the information you need, Leo.  I promise.  You have my word.”

“Do you really think Christie can defend her?” Steve asks once more.

“Yeah.  I think she can.  I have absolute faith.  Like I said, she’s a Capoeira master!”  He winks.

“I’m pretty sure sh_”

“Just let the woman have it.” 

Lei, Steve, and Leo all wandered throughout the mall, looking to see if they could find information on whom is after Natalie and Nick and if Lei’s suspicions were true.  The three eventually run into Xiaoyu with her panda bear wandering about in the streets of Tokyo, as the three men had left the mall.  Lei was nervous about leaving Christie alone with an assassin, but figured she’d be safe.  Right now, Lei figured that they weren’t going to find information about Kazuya at the mall, but rather out on the streets.

“So, you think Kazuya’s behind all of this?”  Xiaoyu asks Lei.

“Indeed.  Everything points to him.  Dr. Kristovitch worked for G-Corporation.”

“Do you think possibly, Heihachi is after her, rather than Kazuya?” Xiaoyu replied.

“Well, I thought about that, but Heihachi really has no reason to go after Dr. Kristovitch.  Her husband is dead.  If she has information that he needs, he won’t be hiring assassins to kill this woman.”

“Not to mention, she’s the only link I have to my mother’s death!”

Lei then realized something.  “On your flash drive, Leo, why didn’t we think to look up Dr. Kristovitch’s name on there?  You have the entire G-Corp database, right?”

Leo shook his head.  “Actually, Steve and I looked it up.  And no, it only has information about my mom and the projects that she was involved with.”

“It yielded no results.  Dr. Kristovitch has zero connection to Heihachi Mishima other than through her husband.”

Lei then realized something. 

“ _I was one of Ukraine’s top students at the Lugansk Medical University.  I got hired, met my husband at work, and now, here I am…”_

_“Yes, he is my son.  He’s only 12, but he’s a smart kid…”_

Lei did the math.  And followed along with Natalie’s story, assuming she told the truth. 

_Steve escaped the Mishima Zaibatsu when he was six.  That was roughly 16 years ago.  Nick is 12.  This was four years before Nick was born.  Somewhere in those four years, Dr. Vigneault met Natalie and got married and had Nick.  While at the same time, continued his Devil Gene research.  That would mean, shortly after the failure of the research, he transferred over to G-Corp and met Natalie.  He started to have better success with his research… Maybe it was documented, but perhaps Heihachi caught wind of it and silenced Dr. Vigneault.  But maybe… Natalie has information on Dr. Vigneault’s work.  And she knows about the Devil Gene experiments!  She avoided my question and accused me of making false accusations… what if… she was a part of G-Corporation’s Devil Gene research with her husband?  What if she worked closely with him and the two started to develop a relationship and ended up together?  It all makes sense now!  She probably was a Mishima Zaibatsu scientist first!  Then went to G-Corp!  She was probably really close to Dr. Kliesen!_

“Guys, I think Dr. Krisovitch has a much deeper connection to all of this than we realize…”  Lei finally said.

“What do you mean?”

“What if… maybe… Dr. Krisovitch might have been one of the scientists at the Mishima Zaibatsu?  Her name didn’t show up in the records because she was an intern at the time!  She probably fell in love with her husband and moved to G-corp with him.  Her husband probably confided her with the formula!  Xiaoyu, remember that incident when an entire class at the Mishima Polytechnic High disappeared?  That puts it around that time of Dr. Vigneault’s death?  What if Heihachi was experimenting on those kids, and tried to find the secret of Dr. Vigneault’s successful experiments… and not wanting his research to go into the wrong hands… killed himself… or better yet… had his wife pull the trigger.  It explains why the woman refuses to touch a gun… because she killed her husband.  Every time she holds a gun, she is immediately reminded of her husband, falling on the ground, lying over and drowning in his own blood… and she did it.  With a gun!  She never mentioned who killed her husband, but she just said she watched him die… maybe she killed him via assisted suicide.”  Lei thought about that last statement.  It brought him back.

_It was dark, and rainy, and quiet… all that Lei heard was his breath.  He looked and stared at the corpse below him, with his blood dripping on the pavement, mixed with the rain.  His hands trembled as he held his gun with smoke coming out of the barrel of his weapon._

_“I’ll see you in Hell.” Those were his last words before dying._

_Lei couldn’t believe it… he had killed his partner and best friend, who really betrayed him and was working for the Triads the entire time.  He didn’t know how he felt about it.  Lei falls to his knees dropping his weapon, as tears fell from his face.  But one wouldn’t be able to tell, as the rain dripped from his bangs… dripping down his cheeks._

_“Duy mm zhu…” Lei whispered before grabbing his gun and placing it at his chest.  Lei fired, but heard the clicking sound.  He had used his entire magazine on his partner… after he had almost fired a round at Lei, himself.  Lei knew at that point, he was destined to live._

Lei got a text message from Christie telling Lei to hurry, and that the assassins are back!  He immediately snapped back into reality after Xiaoyu, Steve, and Leo had noticed Lei spacing out.

“Guys!  We need to get back to the mall!  Dr. Kristovitch and Christie are in trouble!”

Steve and Leo and Xiaoyu all looked in interest.   It wasn’t long before the four took off and ran back to the mall.  Once there, they saw Christie holding her own against some thugs.  Lei then took note that some of the men had grabbed Natalie and her son.  Lei, Steve, Leo,  Xiaoyu, and Panda all knew exactly what to do.  Lei and Steve both went after Nick, while Leo, Panda, and Xiaoyu went after Natalie.  Lei managed to sweep kick the thug, releasing Nick from his hold, as Lei grabs the boy.  Another man comes up behind him, and Steve punches him, knocking him out, instantly. 

“Okay, let’s go!”

Lei ran to get the boy to safety, as Steve took out any who challenged them, eventually, there was a guy with a baseball bat, and Lei simply tripped the man, and watched as he got stuck in the escalator.  Lei noted that Steve was having a hard time being surrounded by multiple enemies, so Lei told him to take Nick to Panda, and he’ll take care of the thugs.  Lei made an opening by taking out two guys with a palmed attack, followed by a roundhouse.  Steve and Nick both got loose and ran.  Lei then saw below that they had Natalie, and Xiaoyu, Leo, and Panda were all too busy fighting; Lei looked at the pole and where it leads.

Thinking fast, Lei jumps on a thug, and jumps on the railing, and leaps across, and slid down.  Lei then swung and jumped off, doing a swan-dive, rolling on the ground, and landing on his feet.  However, Lei kept sliding at full speed and hit a glass display case of a vendor selling fresh baked goods.  Lei grimaced in agony before standing up and catching up to Natalie’s captor.  He held up a switch blade, and pressed it against the woman’s neck.  Lei held up his gun, pointing at the man ready to shoot. 

“Now, if you don’t put the gun down, she will die… so let us go slowly.”

“Detective!  Do what he says, please!”

Lei took note of his surroundings.  The thug was under a wooden arch in front of a vendor selling makeup accessories.  He knew what had to be done.  Lei lowered his gun and fired a shot.  Natalie screamed as the man proceeds to slit her throat, but before he could do anything, the bullet had ricochet from the marble floor, and into the air to hit the bar holding up the arch.  The pillar falls and hits the thug, immediately knocking him unconscious.  Lei runs to Natalie who ran toward him and Lei catches the woman in his embrace as she buried herself in Lei’s chest. 

“Are you okay?” Lei asks the woman.

She releases herself and looks up, still in the embrace.  “Yes… thanks to you… you saved my life…”

“I know… I was just doin’ my job, honey.” He smiles.  “See why they call me the Supercop?”

Natalie then reaches out, tracing Lei’s features on his face, until Lei felt her touch something painful on his cheek.  “You cut yourself again.”

Lei sighed.  “I know.  I’m very accident prone.  Get used to it.”

Natalie then rested her face back in Lei’s chest as he held her tightly.  He was enjoying this embrace as much as Natalie enjoyed it.  It was just so nice and peaceful right now.  Lei closed his eyes for a moment and just couldn’t help but enjoy the nice fresh smell of Natalie’s hair.  Yeah, it smelled like ash, but it also… smelled like some perfume.  The smell of tobacco took Lei back in his days as a college student and a part-time cadet in training.  The woman fit in his arms like a glove.  Lei remembered when Jun found out that Kazuya had been killed.  He was there to comfort the woman, and give her all the love he could.  He later finds out that she’s pregnant and offered to help her raise her son, but Jun left.  Lei never saw her again after that.  He wanted kiss Jun on her forehead and tell her it will all be fine and take good care of her, but she didn't want his help.  Lei did go see Jin and Jun time-to-time, but in the end, you can't force someone to love you as much as you love them.

“Okay, break it up you two, get a room!” Steve said as he and the others accompanied him.

Natalie and Lei both immediately let go as Natalie ran and hugged Nick asking if he was okay.  Lei then walked over and cuffed the thug who held Natalie hostage.  Lei then grabbed his walkie-talkie, seemingly from out of nowhere.

“Dispatch.  This is Lei Wulong.  I have an armed suspect in custody.  I’m on my way.” After Lei made his call, the rest of the arch fell and hit Lei in the back of his head.  He grimaced in pain and held the back of his head.  This caused Natalie to run to Lei and hold his head.

“Are you okay?”

“Yes, yes, I’m fine… Aghhh…. That’s gonna leave a mark.  I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll go check out your wounds later.”

“So, maybe this time, you’ll actually do a thorough physical?” Lei smiled seductively.  Unlike his tone earlier, Lei was actually flirting with Natalie.

“Perhaps… I might have to…” she smiles seductively as well.

“Are they together?” Xiaoyu asks Leo.

Leo shrugs.

“They’re always like this.” Nick said for the first time.  “Mom likes to flirt with Mr. Lei.  It’s embarrassing.”

“PHEW! That was an intense workout!  Hey guys!  What did I miss?” Christie announced, totally out of breath.

“Nothing.  We just caught ourselves a criminal.  And we’re going to interrogate him.” Lei said, getting serious now.  “So now we know.  Dr. Krisovitch is indeed a wanted woman.  So, I recommend… we keep the two in remote locations.  Nick, you can stay with Steve, and Dr. Krisovitch… you can stay with me.”

Steve’s jaw dropped.  “Wha? Are you serious right now?”

Lei nods.  “Yeah, it’s a lot safer this way, trust me.”  He pulls the criminal up to his feet.  “Also, Christie, good job.  As well as Xiaoyu and Panda.   Everyone did great.  Now keep this up for four more days, and Kazuya will be behind bars.”


End file.
